My husband needs to lose a few. He's put on weight slowly over the last 20 years we've been together and he's never dieted or exercised on a regular basis before. Like me, he turns 40 this year, and I'm worried how the weight he's carrying around his middle is affecting his heart and overall health. He would probably have to lose about 30 lbs to get down to a healthy weight. He doesn't talk about it very much, but he hates seeing himself in pictures and he gets frustrated about how out of shape he is when he's invited to play basketball or soccer or whatever.
Now, here's the tricky part. I was overweight for years and he never EVER bugged me about my weight. Even at my heaviest, he always told me how beautiful I was - he was always so wonderful about it. When I finally decided to lose the weight (once and for all), it was because I wanted to - not because I was shamed into it.
I want to be as loving and supportive toward him as he was toward me, but I do not want a heart attack to take him away from me. I've tried on a couple of occasions to encourage him gently and reassure him that I'm concerned about his health, NOT his appearance.
Well, he decided this month (it being the New Year and all) that he's ready to try. The kicker is that he wants me to do all the work. It's my own fault because I'm the one responsible for setting up that scenario. I'll be planning and packing and cooking his meals and I'm sure I'll be reminding him that he committed to working out for 30 min 2x a week to start.
He swears he is too busy to do what it takes to lose the weight (and I agree for the most part... his schedule is insane for at least one more year). In a way, I'm excited - I'm good at project management and this feels like a project that could use my management. In another way, I'm wondering if I'm doing him a disservice by approaching it in this way.
Do any of you face similar issues with your spouses or siggies? How do you handle it?